Improved dielectric properties of Sago Starch-Sodium Alginate (SS-SA) blend embedded with Cuc-Ags nanoparticles

Flexible polymer nanocomposites (NCs) based on Sago Starch-Sodium alginate (SS-SA) embedded Cu-Ag core-shell nanoparticles (Cuc-Ags NP) have been synthesized by solution casting approach. The structural and morphological properties of prepared NCs were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Field emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectroscopy. The appearance of peaks in XRD spectra and lattice fringes in SAED pattern corresponding to Ag NP confirmed the core-shell architecture of Cuc-Ags NP, and the average crystallite size (calculated from XRD data) comes out to be 18.92 +/- 0.16 nm. The interactions occurring between host matrix and NP have been confirmed using FTIR spectroscopy. The Cuc-Ags@SS-SA NC film exhibits superior tensile strength and Young's modulus as compared to pristine SS-SA film. The dielectric analysis revealed the highest dielectric constant for SS-SA matrix doped with 2.0 wt% Cuc-Ags NP (160.2 at RT) which is six times than that of pristine (at f = 50 Hz) and increases to 396.3 at 333 K. The Cole-Cole plots of Cuc-Ags@SS-SA NCs suggest the poly-dispersive nature of NC. The relaxation time (tau) decreases with increasing temperature and concen-trations of Cuc-Ags NP in SS-SA. Such NCs with high epsilon ' and low epsilon" values have widespread applications as charge storage capacitors in flexible electronic devices.